The Do’s and Don’ts
Dishwasher loading-It should be simple: Pile used plates, bowls, coffee cups, glasses, forks, spoons and knives into the dishwasher and turn it on.
Yet loading the dishwasher is one of the most contentious household chores. Not only is it the rare task, and often shared by multiple family members.
The dump and turn-on is not the correct approach, and should be much more orderly, and though about, as it will make a large difference to the end result.
The don’ts are more important than the do’s.
Never put knives, pewter, wood, china, crystal, cast iron, nonstick pans or gold-plate flatware in the dishwasher.
Also don’t mix sterling or silver-plate flatware with stainless-steel because a reaction between the metals can damage both finishes.
More than 40% of Australians fight about loading the dishwasher, with 61% of them arguing over whether to pre-rinse dishes.
Some 39% of those who argue say they disagree on whether knives should point up or down, and 30% differ on whether plastic containers must go on the top rack.
To end the war over utensil handles and whether they should point up or down, dishwasher makers increasingly offer models with a third rack on top, to keep similar utensils from nesting.
The shallow rack has tines that hold forks, knives, spoons and large utensils laid out horizontally, instead of standing up vertically in a basket below.
The third rack frees up space to squeeze more into the lower two racks.
Some dishwasher manufacturers define different loading styles and makes sure each rack design can accommodate the range of methods.
“Protectors,” for example, want to load utensils with the handle up, so that the eating end isn’t touched when unloading; “organizers” just want to load and unload everything as fast as possible,
“Curators” are the most particular users, as they will place all their tall plates together, even though they don’t have to.
Some people place their white dinner plates together toward the front of the lower rack while pots and pans go in the back with handles pointing left.
Many consumers have been loading dishwashers the same way since they were children, even though the appliance can do more than ever.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the practice of pre-rinsing dishes before loading—which most appliance and soap makers do recommend.
Some dishwashers have a “TargetClean” option, where sensors read whether soil remains on dishes.
Forty focused jets spray water on challenges like a casserole dish with baked-on food.
Despite increasingly specialized washing cycles, studies show that more than 70% of consumers still select the “normal” cycle every time.
With all the changes in water and energy usage that are taking place, consumers need to select different cycles depending on the types of dishes they’re doing and the type of clean they want.
Users who load especially dirty dishes on one side of a new Samsung dishwasher can choose the “Zone Booster” setting, which puts more water pressure in that area.
Samsung’s “Flex Glass Rack” aims to make people feel comfortable about washing delicate wine glasses. The small device holds stemmed wine glasses in place on the lower rack and diffuses the water stream to clean them gently.
To help ensure that dishwasher racks work with current tableware trends, Whirlpool monitors the most popular items on bridal registries.
Lately there has been a rising demand for soup tureens, and some brands have racks with adjustable heights to fit tall pilsner glasses, large beer steins, mason jars and small tapas plates.
Consumers who switched to square dinner plates didn’t require Bosch to change the dish-rack tines, but future adjustments are likely to suit the increasing use of 13-inch skillets, instead of 12-inch ones.
Another precise way of loading the dishwasher, which includes alternating forks and spoons in the utensil basket to prevent them from sticking together, and placing similar dishes and glasses together so unloading is more efficient.
Click here to go to the Burleigh Appliances Blog section, for more detailed articles and information on this and many other subjects.
